Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars Page #3

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Yes, sir.

Camacho, come on.

Prepare to fire.

Sound-off ready.

Eyes on target.

CAMACHO:
I'm hot.

ONE-OH-ONE:
Me too.

RICO:

In three, two, one.

This one's for Ratzass.

Fire. Teach them

not to mess with Mars.

Fall back, troopers.

On the bounce.

[ALL GRUNT]

Watch your rocket fuel.

[GRUNTING]

[COUGHS]

ONE-OH-ONE:

You stuck that landing.

Stop dragging ass,

lieutenant.

[GRUNTS]

Brace for impact!

[DISTANT EXPLOSION]

[CHUCKLES]

Well, I guess

we showed them, huh?

Yeah. And now all their friends

are gonna come looking for us.

When's the rescue boat coming,

sir?

Sometime between

now and never.

Let's move.

I mean, the Fleet, sir.

They gotta be sending the Fleet,

right?

Let's keep moving.

Huh?

Alpha Squad 50-percent

casualty rate.

Delta Squad in full retreat.

This operation's like

slow-motion suicide.

Captain, FedNet has reported

an infestation on Mars.

They've taken

the whole planet.

What?

[ALARM BLARES]

MAN:

Captain, we have two

Federation starships

on tactical approach.

Report.

Unable to confirm ID.

[STATIC CRACKLES OVER MONITORS]

MAN [OVER MONITOR]:

John A. Warden,

this is the Special Branch.

The Special Branch?

What are they doing here?

Captain Carmen Ibanez,

you are hereby relieved

of duty for this operation.

Relinquish command

and surrender your vessel.

What's this about?

Under whose orders?

We don't answer questions

at Special Branch.

Failure to comply is treason

against the Federation.

Stand down,

or we will destroy you.

MAN:

Our vessels are the same, ma'am.

Then we're in luck.

Stay right where you are.

Carl, I don't know why,

but I believe you.

John A. Warden

is breaking away, sir.

She's out of her mind.

Fire at will.

[]

MAN:
Captain!

Don't worry.

That beam will never

hit us.

We're in their blind spot.

Crap design.

Captain, I'm afraid

we're losing speed and falling.

Yes, I know.

Prepare to fire

the main thrusters on my signal.

We're going to swing by

and slingshot straight to Mars.

NEWS NARRATOR:

Flashes of light from Mars

tell the tale of a heroic

last stand

between a light platoon of

Mobile Infantry and a Bug army

of 100,000 Arachnid warriors,

and then Mars goes dark.

Federal scientists now believe

an undetected Bug meteor

may have impacted the Martian

Outback three years ago.

Officials refuse to speculate

about how many, if any,

of Mars' human inhabitants

may have survived

the Arachnid sneak attack.

But who should we blame

for this tragedy?

Federal psychologists say

it's most likely Martians.

They also warn us that those

oh-so-Martian yearnings

for personal rights and freedom

are in reality,

primitive, childlike behaviors

that destabilize society

and weaken the human will

to survive.

Would you like to know more?

[FANFARE PLAYING FAINTLY]

It's not just about

our safety.

It's about duty.

It's about the future.

You're right.

Because the future

is everyone's duty.

Hmm. That is sharp.

Very sharp.

Daniel?

Yes, Amy?

Do we have today's numbers?

Your approval rating

is at 82.5 percent.

[LAUGHS]

I almost don't believe it.

Almost.

It is historic.

No other sky marshal

has ever been more popular.

Still, there's always room

for improvement.

The more people hate Martians,

the more they like you.

Speaking of which,

are we moving forward

with the plan?

You tell me.

Is the Q-bomb ready?

Yes, but I'm not sure

if the public is ready.

Oh, they're ready.

They just don't know it yet.

Shall I prepare

a statement?

Please.

Something inspirational

this time.

Ah, maybe hit

some family notes.

[BUTTON CLICKS]

AMY [OVER TV]:

You're right.

Because the future

is everyone's duty.

The only thing missing

is a villain.

The traitor of Mars

is still sleeping it off.

He's dreaming about high school.

High school?

Really?

Can you imagine

what Carl Jenkins

was like in high school?

[ALL CHUCKLE]

Wake him up.

[GRUNTS]

[COUGHS]

What is this thing

you have for Bugs, Carl?

Well, to beat your enemy,

you have to know your enemy.

And I learn something new

every day.

And what did you

learn today?

Someone wanted Mars

to get infested.

And that someone's not you?

You were in the perfect position

to mastermind it.

Amy, please.

What are you going to do

to Mars?

I'm going to save them

from themselves.

A Q-bomb?

Really?

Is that your solution?

Come on, Amy.

Is this about the Federation

or your approval ratings?

I've heard enough.

MAN:

Sweet dreams, Carl.

[SIGHS]

You don't need to worry

about my ratings, Carl.

All it takes is a little

fireworks,

and my ratings will soar.

Sit back and enjoy the show,

general.

Think those Bugs are here

for us too, colonel?

Yeah.

They're watching us.

They're afraid we'll nuke them

if they get too close.

RICO:

Just don't tell them

we're out of nukes.

Stupid Bugs ain't gonna

forget about us anytime soon.

Bet they're just

tired of us nuking them

right up their Bug hole.

[LAUGHS]

Forty-five degree--

Okay...

Come back. Come back.

[GRUNTS]

Can anyone tell me

what the f***

Lieutenant Baba's doing?

He's working up some kind

of old-time radio rig,

send out an SOS.

He better not SOS the whole damn

hive, get us all killed.

MAN [OVER RADIO]:

This is Martian National Guard.

Please identify

RICO:

Well, I'll be a Martian's uncle.

This is Martian National Guard.

Please identify.

BABA:

George?

I repeat,

this is Martian National Guard.

Uh, I think I may have

got us a ride, sir.

I may have underestimated you,

Lieutenant Baba.

[LAUGHS]

Is that you, coz?

Well, hallelujah!

What the heck you doing out here

in the middle of nowhere?

[LAUGHS]

Uh, we've been nuking Bugs,

George. You?

GEORGE:

I was out here

rescuing our men.

But it appears there

ain't no one left to rescue.

You mean everyone's dead?

Well, no one's picking up,

you hear?

Maybe some of them's down

in the mines.

We got damn overrun.

I never seen so many Bugs

in my life.

Well, they're still

afraid of us.

[RUMBLING]

ALL:
Whoa!

Run.

[]

I can't land.

Go. Run for the boat.

Use your retros

and jump onboard.

[BUG SQUEALS]

Camacho, go.

[RICO BREATHING HEAVILY]

[SQUEALS]

Come on!

BABA:

Rico!

No!

[]

Damn it.

CAMACHO:

Colonel.

NEWS ANCHOR:

Mars:
To be, or not to be?

That's the big question,

and everybody has an opinion.

MAN 1:

Mars is a Bug planet,

no question.

One Q-bomb will fix that.

Problem solved.

MAN 2:

Low-gravity birth

makes babies stupid,

but instead, we call them

"Martians."

That's a fascinating

perspective. Thank you.

MAN 3:

Any planet that symbolizes

anger,

war, and rampant male sexuality

deserves to be blown up.

A lot of ideas in there.

You've really done

your homework.

WOMAN 1:

Mars is a small,

mediocre planet

that's only popular

because it's red.

[LAUGHS]

That's certainly one way

of looking at it.

Let's find out

what Federation's

smartest woman thinks,

as we take you live

to Space Command.

[PATRIOTIC FLOURISH PLAYS]

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